Head of the Mississippi 2024

mtu takes on the cities

Rowing and living in the middle of beautiful nowhere Houghton Michigan makes for a shock when after 6 hours our vans pulled into Minneapolis Minnesota for rigging and course practice on the Mississippi River. With some vans coming from the Mall of America and others from Dinky Town, we get to work rigging our boats.

After rigging, several boats hit the water. Getting our coxswains used to the course is essential to having a successful race day. Finding the start, going through each bridge, mapping the turn, and getting our oars in the water is essential to getting in the right race mindset. Following practice, we head to the team hotel where an amazing dinner is waiting for us provided by the Buzzell family with the help of other families’ generous donations. Having a good, carb loaded, filling meal the day before sets us up for success before we head to bed after a full day of travel and rowing.

race day

The Head of the Mississippi regatta brought in 28 clubs, in which we as a team went against not only other collegiate clubs but also open teams and D1 college rowing teams. Not only is this race 2.8k longer than the Des Moines, but the competition is heavier.

Men’s Team: Our varsity boys started us off once again in their 8+ in honor of our founder and past coach Terry Smythe. Then our novice boys 8+ headed out onto the water taking a notable 4th place in their race. Then it was time for the fours to head out to race. The novice in the Lorenzetti took 5th and those in the Dr. Jim took 6th. The varsity then took the water for the last race of the day, those in the Lorenzetti took 10th with those in the Dr. Jim following suit and placing 11th.

Women’s Team: For the women’s team, the varsity fours were the first to hit the water. With 18 boats in this one race, those in the Lorenzetti placed 11th and those in the Dr. Jim placed 13th. Then the novice women took the Lorenzetti out and raced with all their might to place first. This makes it the second year in a row that MTU Novice Women took home gold in this race. Then to wrap up the women’s races, the varsity women went out to race the 8+. They ended up placing 8th out of the 11 boats that raced.

helpful links

Head of the Mississippi Results: Head of the Mississippi - All Entries (regattacentral.com)

HODM Photo Album: Head of the Mississippi 2024 - Memento